In this essay, Pete Sinnott, Jr. provides a short, but important, history of the form of intellectual production, the essay. Both the producer and the product are uncertain, historical artifacts. How we understand intellectual work today is bound up in that history: on one hand, of the author’s self-conscious introspection or lack thereof and, on the other hand, of the essay as it oscillates between science, art, and criticism.

Anyone attempting to shed light on the problem of adjunct or contingent teaching labor (as some prefer to be called) in the United States’s colleges and universities is fighting a lonely political battle with few allies and many opponents, both of whom have a stake in keeping this issue quiet.

Sinnott explores the relationship between form, genre, and expression of ideas. He compares two examples of writing that exemplify the possibilities that emerge when we stop insisting dogmatically on genre conformity.

A survey of reporting on the not-so-new gig econony: What’s it like to survive
on piece-work? Are there any political solutions? Is a new working class
identity forming out of these shared experiences?

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Contrivers’ Review is a non-profit digital publication featuring essays, book
reviews, and interviews. Its primary mission is to reconnect the highly
professionalized discourses of the humanities and social theory with broader
and more diverse audiences. Contrivers’ Review takes seriously the task of
critique, while remaining respectful of the limits of theory’s ambitions.